My co-workers said it was blasphemy, but my interest was piqued. I decided to let my hair down and test it out myself.

I met with Beni Sicilia, owner and artistic director of Toronto’s Blowdry Lounge to find out more and try out one of their new beer-infused hair treatments in partnership with Muskoka Brewery, available at the three Blowdry Lounge locations in Toronto until May 30.

“It’s been a really fun project,” Sicilia tells me as I sit down in his chair at the midtown Blowdry Lounge location.

The experts at Blowdry Lounge and Muskoka Brewery have developed five hair treatments using their Cool As Cuke beer – a 4.7 ABV American Pale Ale featuring the crisp taste of cucumber and a little zing from lemongrass. The treatments include a beer wash, mask, blow-out and a can of beer to enjoy at home.

All of the treatments incorporate beer boiled down to remove some of the alcohol (although they’ve experimented with unboiled beer as well, both with great results says Sicilia) and fresh ingredients like strawberries, avocados or bananas. They’ve also added in tea tree and peppermint oils to stimulate the hair and coconut oil for moisture.

“Beer has biotin…it strengthens the hair, it gives it shine,” Sicilia promises as I head over to the sink to test out the wash and treatment featuring strawberries.

The experts take time to massage in the beer mask – which smells more like a fruity cocktail than a hair treatment – before Sicilia treats me to one of his signature blowouts.

So did the beer treatment work?

Well the proof is in the pudding, as they say, or in this case, the proof is in the curls. My hair went from frizzy-I-woke-up-at-4-am-don’t-judge-me to shiny-bouncy-look-at-me-locks.

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